A message about Henry Ford and his assembly line. Autostories: the emergence of the first automobile assembly line

Henry Ford is often called "father" automotive industry, because he created a whole network of automobile factories. Ford received 161 patents, so he is deservedly considered the greatest inventor. The industrialist devoted his life to the production of cheap cars and sought to provide a car to everyone. Henry Ford was the first to use an assembly line for the continuous production of cars. The brainchild of a businessman, the Ford Motor Company, still operates today under the leadership of his descendants.

Childhood and youth

The future industrialist was born on July 30, 1863 on his father's farm near the town of Dearborn (Michigan). Parents William Ford and Marie Lithogot immigrated to America from Ireland. The boy was raised with three brothers and two sisters.

Father and mother worked hard on the farm and were considered wealthy people. But Henry was sure that when running a household there was much more work than the fruits of labor, so he did not seek to continue the work of his parents.

The boy was educated only at a church school and did not even learn to write without errors. When Ford became the head of the company, he could not correctly draw up a contract. A newspaper once called the industrialist “ignorant,” causing Ford to sue the publication. But the inventor was sure that the most important thing for a person is not literacy, but the ability to think.

At the age of 12, Henry lost his mother, and this event shocked the boy. At the same age, the future entrepreneur saw a locomobile for the first time. Ford was delighted with the carriage moving under the influence of the motor, and decided in the future to assemble the moving mechanism himself. But his father wanted Henry to become a farmer, so he was critical of the child’s interest in mechanics.

At the age of 16, Ford went to Detroit and became an apprentice in a machine shop. Four years later, Henry returned to the farm, where he worked around the house during the day and invented inventions at night. To make his father's daily work easier, Ford created a thresher that ran on gasoline. Given the demand for such equipment, a buyer was soon found. Henry sold the patent for the invention, and then got a job in the company of this famous entrepreneur.

Business

In 1891, Ford returned to Detroit to become a mechanical engineer for Thomas Edison. Henry held this position until 1899, but in his free time he continued to work on creating a machine. Ford didn't just do what he loved, but lived with the idea of ​​creating affordable car. In 1893, Henry managed to achieve a result - he designed his first car.

The management of the Edison company did not support the employee’s hobbies and recommended abandoning incredible undertakings. Instead, in 1899, the future industrialist left his job and became one of the owners of the Detroit Automobile Company. But even here the guy did not stay long and three years later he left the company due to differences in views with the other co-owners.

At this time, the young entrepreneur’s invention was not in great demand. To attract the attention of customers, Ford drove around the city in his car. At the same time, Henry was often ridiculed and called "obsessed" from Begley Street. But the guy was not afraid of failure and despised the fear of losing. In 1902, Ford participated in auto racing and managed to beat the reigning US champion. The inventor's task was to advertise the car and demonstrate its advantages, and the guy achieved the desired result.

In 1903, the aspiring businessman created the Ford Motor Company and began producing Ford A cars. The inventor wanted to provide customers with a universal machine that would be reliable and economical. Gradually, Ford made the design of the car much simpler and standardized various mechanisms and parts. The inventor was the first to use a conveyor to produce cars, which was a real innovation. A talented businessman achieved a breakthrough in the automotive industry and took a leading position in this industry.

Henry Ford was not afraid of difficulties and fought even with the most powerful opponent. When Ford Motor clashed with the automakers' syndicate, the young entrepreneur fought back. Back in 1879, George Selden received a patent for a car design, but did not implement it. When other companies began producing cars, the inventor began to go to court. After the first won case, a number of companies bought licenses from him and created an association of car manufacturers.

The trial against Ford began in 1903 and lasted until 1911. The industrialist refused to buy a license and promised protection to his clients. In 1909, Ford lost the case, but after a retrial, the court ruled that all automakers acted within the law and did not violate Selden's patent rights, since they used a different engine design. As a result, the association of automakers collapsed, and Ford gained fame as a fighter for the interests of customers.

Success came to the talented inventor in 1908 with the start of production of the Ford-T. Ford's brainchild was distinguished by its simple finish, affordable price and practicality. I even chose this car, converted into an ambulance.

Henry Ford's Model T

Sales of the Ford Motor Company grew rapidly, because Ford cars were of high quality, but inexpensive. At the same time, the cost of the Ford T fell over the years: if in 1909 the price of a car was $850, then in 1913 it dropped to $550.

1910 marks the construction of the Highland Park plant by Henry Ford. Three years later, an assembly line began to be used here. First the generator was assembled, and then the engine. The assembly of each engine involved several dozen workers who performed individual operations and thereby reduced production time. A moving platform was also used, as a result of which the chassis was manufactured in half the time. Such experiments affected many aspects of the production process, increasing its productivity and efficiency.

Gradually, the industrialist purchased mines, coal mines and opened new factories. This is how Ford achieved a full production cycle: from ore mining to the production of finished cars. As a result, the businessman created an entire empire that was independent of other companies and foreign trade. In 1914, Ford produced 10 million cars, or 10% of all cars in the world.

Henry Ford sought to improve working conditions in factories. Since 1914, workers' wages increased to $5 a day. But in order to receive such money, employees were obliged to spend it wisely. If the earnings were spent on drinking, then the employee was fired.

The enterprises established a work schedule of three shifts of 8 hours each, instead of two shifts of 9 hours each. The entrepreneur also introduced one day off and paid leave. Although workers were required to maintain strict discipline, good conditions attracted thousands of people, and Ford did not lack personnel. However, until 1941, there was a ban on trade unions at the factories of the American industrialist.

In the early 20s, Ford sold more cars than all competitors combined. Of the ten cars sold in the United States, seven were produced by Ford. During this period, the industrialist began to be called the “car king.”

Since 1917, the United States has participated in the war as part of the Entente. Then Henry Ford's factories began fulfilling military orders and produced helmets, gas masks, submarines and tanks. But the entrepreneur emphasized that he did not want to make money from the bloodshed and promised to return the profits to the treasury. Ford's patriotic impulse was warmly greeted by his compatriots, which raised the authority of the industrialist.

After the war, the talented inventor was faced with new problem- falling sales of Ford-T. Ford Motor's product range was limited, and the buyer wanted variety. Ford's statement that he could offer a car in any color, as long as it was black, was true, but no longer met the needs of the market. The entrepreneur relied on affordability by selling the car on credit, but the competing company “ General Motors» offered a variety of models and took the lead.

Sales were plummeting, and by 1927 Ford was facing bankruptcy. Then the inventor stopped the production process and began creating a new car. Ford was also helped by his son, who participated in the development of the car's design. In the same year, the industrialist presented the Ford A model, which was distinguished by its spectacular appearance and improved technical characteristics. These innovations returned Ford to its leadership position in the automotive market.

Henry Ford's 1927 Model A Ford

Back in 1925, the entrepreneur decided to create an airline, which was called Ford Airways. Ford then acquired William Stout's company and began producing airliners. Subsequently, the Ford Trimotor became especially popular. This passenger aircraft was in serial production during the years 1927-1933. 199 copies were produced and were in service until 1989.

In the 1920s, Henry Ford maintained economic relations with the USSR. The first Soviet mass-produced tractor, the Fordson-Putilovets, presented in 1923, was created on the basis of the Fordson tractor. During 1929-1932, Ford Motor employees contributed to the construction and reconstruction of factories in Moscow and Gorky.

Henry Ford's plane "Ford Trimotor"

In the early years of the Great Depression, the Ford company confidently stayed afloat, but in 1931 the crisis affected Ford Motor. Falling sales and increased competition forced Ford to close some factories again and cut wages for remaining workers. The indignant crowd began to break through to the Rouge plant; the police dispersed the people only with the help of weapons.

Once again Ford found a way out difficult situation thanks to a new invention. The industrialist presented the Ford V 8, a sports car whose speed reached 130 km/h. The new product made it possible to resume full-time job company and increase sales volumes.

Political views and anti-Semitism

There are several pages in the biography of Henry Ford that caused condemnation among his contemporaries. So, back in 1918, the inventor bought the publication “The Dearborn Independent” and two years later began to spread anti-Semitic ideas. In 1920, a number of publications on this topic were combined in one book, “International Jewry.” Subsequently, Ford's ideas and publications were actively used by the Nazis to influence the younger generation.

In 1921, 119 prominent US citizens, including three presidents, denounced the inventor’s views. In 1927, Ford admitted his mistakes and published a letter of apology to the media.

The entrepreneur maintained contact with the NSDAP and even provided financial support to the Nazis. admired Ford and kept a portrait of the inventor in his Munich residence. In the book "My Struggle" only one American is mentioned - Henry Ford. In the Nazi-occupied city of Poissy (France), a Henry Ford plant operated since 1940, producing cars and aircraft engines.

Personal life

In 1887, Henry Ford married Clara Bryant, the daughter of a simple farmer. The “Car King” lived amicably and happily with Clara. The wife became a reliable support for the talented inventor. Bryant believed in her husband when the townspeople laughed at him and criticized his colleagues. Ford once said in an interview that he would only want to live another life if he could marry Clara again.

The couple had only one son, Edsel (1893-1943), who later became his father's main assistant. Disputes often arose between Henry Ford and Edsel, but this did not interfere with their friendly relations and teamwork. The father was a teetotaler, loved country dancing and watching birds fly, and the son preferred modern art, jazz, noisy parties and cocktails.

Death

The "King of the Car" managed Ford Motor until the 1930s, after which he handed over control to Edsel. The reason for the businessman’s resignation from managing the company was conflicts with partners and trade union organizations. Ford's son had served as acting president since 1919, so he fully coped with his new powers. After the death of his son in 1943 from stomach cancer, the old industrialist again headed the automobile empire.

But Ford’s advanced years did not allow him to manage the company at the proper level, and therefore two years later he ceded the reins to his grandson, Henry Ford II. The outstanding inventor died on April 7, 1947 from a cerebral hemorrhage. At that time, Ford was 83 years old.

The “Car King” managed to realize his childhood dream, leaving behind one of the largest automobile companies in the world. At the same time, the main task of the industrialist was not to earn money, but to improve people’s lives through his favorite hobby - inventing and producing cars.

Henry Ford left behind an autobiography, “My Life, My Achievements,” in which he colorfully described the methods of organizing work at the enterprise. The ideas presented in this book were adopted by many companies, and quotes from the inventor’s statements remain relevant today.

Back in 1928, the businessman received the Elliott Cresson Medal for achievements in the automotive industry. Many books and films are devoted to the history of Ford's life and achievements. Thus, in 1987, Allan Eastmans’ film “Ford: Man-Machine” was released in Canada, telling about the inventor as one of the symbols of America.

Quotes

• “If you have passion, you can accomplish anything. Enthusiasm is the basis of any progress"
• “When it seems like the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind!”
• “My secret to success is the ability to understand the other person’s point of view and look at things from both his and my points of view.”
• "Quality is doing something right, even when no one is looking"
• “If you require someone to give their time and energy to a business, then make sure that they do not experience financial difficulties.”
• “Only two incentives force people to work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing it”

We have already talked about Henry Ford (let us remember the years of his life - 1863-1947), the creator of mass American car. The former chief engineer of the Edison Electric Company (by the way, a very remarkable fact, many talented engineers and inventors worked next to Edison), by the time he created his own automobile company, he managed to take part in the industrial production of cars and realized that the production of cars is, in the full sense, a goldmine , Klondike, capable of bringing millions in profit. Different ways forty-year-old Ford managed to persuade twelve investors and collect 28 thousand dollars, a considerable amount at that time, but not too much for starting large-scale production of complex equipment.

On June 16, 1903, a new enterprise called the Ford Motor Company, located in a former Detroit carriage shop, began assembling the first Ford automobile. The car left the factory gates in the same 1903 and was sold to a certain Dr. Pfenning, a resident of Chicago. It was a very small Ford A car, in which a new electrical system ignition The car immediately attracted the American buyer; demand for it exceeded supply. In the first 15 months of production, 1,700 cars left the factory gates. Ford immediately set a more than affordable price for its car at $850 (and in the history of the company there were cheaper models). Considering that at the beginning of the twentieth century, a monthly salary of $100 was considered very good, this was not so little. And yet, Ford A was already available to representatives of the US middle class, which opened up enormous prospects for Ford.

The production technology used during the company’s formation years is interesting. Actually, all companies in the world worked using the same technology. The car was assembled by a whole team of specialists sequentially. First, mechanics worked to assemble the frame. Then chassis specialists approached the car and installed axles, gearboxes, and wheels. Then they were replaced by engine mechanics. And so on. The process turned out to be quite lengthy.

But that is not all. In an effort to reduce the cost of the car as much as possible, Henry Ford decided on one trick. He was not selling a finished car, but... parts of it! That is, the buyer was invited to the factory, where he selected and paid separately for the chassis, body, and tires. At the same time, the car turned out to be quite cheap, however, the profit remained quite low. To Ford's credit, he tried everything options. Over 5 years, he produced as many as 19 car models, assigning them letter indices - from “A” to “ S " The most advanced Ford K model had a powerful six-cylinder engine. But it was also the most expensive, the selling price of the Ford K was $2,500. At the same time, a primitive and very small machine of the “ N " was sold by Ford for only $500. And the demand for it was simply overwhelming.

And Henry Ford comes up with a simple and seemingly quite obvious idea, which, however, did not occur to his competitors. You can get the maximum profit from car production in two ways - by producing expensive, technically advanced cars in small quantities, or... by producing very simple and cheap cars, but a lot. It would seem that this is how it turns out. But a cheap car has many more buyers than an expensive one. Hence the benefit.

Henry Ford outlined his vision for the company's development to shareholders. But not everyone was convinced. One of Ford's first investors, coal trader Malcomson, is leaving the business. Ford is not lost. He raises money and buys out Malcomson's shares, bringing his stake to 58.5 percent. This means that now the shareholder council is not a decree for Ford. And he is quite capable of making the most important decisions himself. Now we know that Ford was not only a talented engineer and a successful entrepreneur. He was also a smart financier with a keen sense of the right directions for business development.

The concept of mass production of affordable cars has been brewing for several years and was the result of a number of experiments. The first step was the release of the “T” brand car on October 1, 1908 - the same “Lizzy Tin”, which later became the most popular car in the world. It was Henry Ford's favorite creation. The child of many compromises, the Ford T was not at all the height of perfection. In particular, it did not have a gas pump, and the gas tank was installed in front of the windshield. When climbing a mountain, gasoline stopped flowing into the carburetor - the tank was lower. We had to turn around and go up the hill in reverse.

During the years of production (19 years in a row!) Ford himself used a car of his own production - a good example for modern industrialists who produce some cars, and themselves drive others, much more advanced and expensive. So, one day something happened to Ford - his car broke down. Ford raised the hood and began to repair his car. Another motorist, also in a Ford T, stopped nearby. He volunteered to help. The motorists started talking. And he arrived, feeling your soul mate, began to openly tell us why this primitive car and its manufacturer Ford were the light of the fire. You can imagine this man’s face when he found out that this was Henry Ford himself! By the way, Ford was not at all offended and then told this story with pleasure...

The car was indeed not a Rolls-Royce. But it defined the automotive face of America for many years and became synonymous with the family car. In those years there was no need to ask “what kind of car do you have?” And so it was clear - “Ford T”.

The second step was the introduction of the principle of continuous production. In the summer of 1913, at the Ford plant in Highland Park, Michigan, the chassis had not yet been completed. assembled car brand "T" tied a rope and began to pull it throughout the assembly shop. The workers, each of whom performed a simple operation assigned to him alone, assembled the machine ten times faster than in the usual way - on a stationary slipway. Thus was born the conveyor belt - perhaps the most important invention of the early twentieth century, which gave the world the mass production of cheap goods.

The idea of ​​a conveyor is to make assembly operations as simple as possible. We must free the worker from constant switching attention and various actions. Instead of one person installing the tire on the wheel, the wheel on the hub, and then bolting the wheel to the hub, three workers were assigned to this operation. One installed the tire and did nothing else. The second put the assembled wheel on the hub, the third tightened the hub nut... We are simplifying the description of the production process, but the principle should be clear. Instead of generalists, the assembly line employs workers who only know how to do one operation. As a result, assembly time is reduced, the possibility of making mistakes is reduced, and worker training is greatly simplified. Ilf and Petrov wrote in their book “One-Story America” that Ford could take a person off the street and train him to work on an assembly line in five minutes. That's how it really happened! True, Soviet writers saw more disadvantages here than advantages. They say that a worker with such work is not able to learn anything, and therefore it is easy to replace him. There is some truth in this. But... still the writers were wrong. And here we come to another invention of Henry Ford, this time a social one.

By the end of 1913, the conveyor was put into permanent operation. Of course, these were no longer ropes, with the help of which the frame of the machine was dragged around the workshop, but real conveyors with a mechanical drive. Observing the operation of the assembly line, Ford came to the conclusion that assembly speed could be increased by increasing the number of work stations and dividing all operations into a number of small sequential actions. This is the first. Secondly, every person has a certain limit, after which fatigue sets in. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange breaks in the work of the conveyor, giving people time to have a snack and just relax. In addition, each participant in the production line must be financially interested in the high quality of the cars produced by the company. This will prevent staff turnover, therefore reducing the cost of training new workers. Will make work more comfortable and safer for the health of workers. And, by the way, more profitable for the workers themselves. And every wealthy factory worker becomes... a potential buyer of a Ford car.

Let us note right away that Ford was not a “good angel” at all. There are very unpleasant personality traits of Henry Ford, which we will not talk about here... He just knew how to count money and saw much further than his competitors.

On January 5, 1914, Henry Ford announced that from now on the working day at his factories would be reduced to 8 hours (previously it was 12 hours), and minimum size workers' wages are raised to $5 a day. In those years, this was perhaps the highest minimum wage in America. In addition, workers were paid extra for their qualifications and length of service.

Sooner or later, other industrialists were forced to follow Ford's example. And Ford's innovations were surprisingly adopted by his ideological opponents. In European and American enterprises, trade unions fought for many years to establish an 8-hour working day and increase wages. But the capitalist Ford was ahead of them...

Today, Ford's main invention, the conveyor belt, is used in a wide variety of industries. Household items and electronic equipment, computers and clothing are produced using the conveyor method. Why, bread is baked and milk is poured using a conveyor belt. And no one says that it is better for the baker to knead the dough himself, shape the buns and bake them in the oven. As time has shown, one is not a warrior alone in the field. Especially when you are trying to feed, clothe, put on shoes and put you in a good car. millions of people.

Henry Ford's first assembly line, introduced in April 1913, was used to assemble generators. Until this time, one worker could assemble 25 to 30 generators in a nine-hour day. This meant that it took about 20 minutes to assemble one generator.

The new line divided this process into 29 operations performed by individual workers with separate nodes generators, which were delivered to them by a constantly moving conveyor. The new approach reduced the assembly time of one generator to an average of 13 minutes. A year later, it was possible to split the production process into 84 operations, and the assembly time of one generator was reduced to 5 minutes.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 near Dearborn, Michigan. Since 1879, he was a mechanic's apprentice in Detroit and worked for an electrical company. He spent all his free time making a car. Every evening Ford tinkered in his barn. During testing, many malfunctions occurred in the car. Either the engine or the wooden flywheel failed, or the transmission belt broke. Finally, in 1893, Ford built a car with a low-power four-stroke engine. internal combustion, more like a four-wheeled bicycle. This car weighed only 27 kg.

Since 1893, Henry has worked as chief engineer of the Edison Illuminating Company, and from 1899 to 1902 he worked for the Detroit Automobile Company. In 1903, he founded the Ford Motor Company, which later became one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers. At its factories, Ford widely introduced standardization and introduced assembly line assembly. He outlined his ideas about the rational organization of labor in the books “My Life and Work” (1922, Russian translation 1924), “Today and Tomorrow” (1926), “Moving Forward” (1930).

Ford was not the only one involved in the automobile industry in the United States. In 1909, there were already 265 companies in this country that produced 126,593 cars. This is more than they had been produced in all European countries by that time.

In 1903, Ford created a racing car. Racer Oldfield won three-mile races on it. That same year, Ford organized a joint stock company to produce automobiles. 1,700 Model A cars were produced. The car had an engine power of 8 liters. With. and could develop maximum speed 50 km/h. Not much by today's standards, but already in 1906 the K model reached speeds of 160 km/h in races.

In the beginning, Ford Motor updated car models frequently. However, in 1908, with the advent of the Model T, the company's policy changed. The Model T was the first car assembled on an assembly line, similar to the carcass processing line at the Chicago Swift and Company slaughterhouses. The car was produced, for the sake of economy, only in black and remained until 1927 the only one produced by Ford. In 1924, half of all cars in the world were Ford Ts. It was produced almost unchanged for 20 years. In total, about 15 million “Tin Lizzies” were produced - that’s what the Americans called the car. Despite its unsightly appearance, the Lizzie engine worked conscientiously.

In addition, the car's success was ensured by its relatively low cost: after all, production had become widespread. From $850 it dropped to $290. Ford cars began to appear in Europe. They arrived in France, which at that time was the leading automobile power, in 1907. But Ford did not create its own production in this country, but built large factories in Dagenham (England) and Cologne (Germany). Production expanded steadily. At the end of 1912, only 3,000 cars were produced at the plant in Dagenham, a suburb of London. And in about 50 years - 670,000.

And the monument to Henry Ford was erected not in the USA, but in England.

Ford cars became cheaper. But in the 20s, Chevrolet, Plymouth and others began to crowd out the outdated model. Ford had to shut down its factories, fire most of its workers, and reschedule production.

In 1928 it appeared new model- "Ford A". This car is interesting because it became a prototype GAZ-A car, which was produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant. At that time, the Ford A was considered the best passenger car in the world.

Ford began producing trucks in 1917. After 10 years, a one-and-a-half ton Ford-AA truck was put on the conveyor, on the basis of which the famous lorry and a half was created in the USSR. freight car GAZ-AA.

By 1939, the Ford Corporation had already produced 27 million cars, largely due to the absorption of other, small firms. And soon the production of passenger cars in the country was banned: the Second World War began. World War. On those released production areas Ford began making airplanes (8,685 bombers were produced during the war years). It was not until 1946 that American automobile companies began producing cars, and old, pre-war brands.

By the way, in our country, designers worked on drawings of new models already during the war years and immediately after its end they began to make new cars.

The Ford concern also did not forget about traffic safety. Beginning in 1955, its factories began to produce cars with a strongly concave steering wheel, then they used safety door locks, soft instrument panel trim, and even seat belts.

What helped Henry Ford achieve such success? First of all - implementation into production assembly line. A conveyor is a conveyor for moving bulk, lumpy or piece goods. Ford used a conveyor belt in its production to assemble small car parts and even car bodies.

In industrial production, conveyors are an integral part integral part technological process. Conveyors allow you to set the pace of production, ensure its rhythm, being the main means of comprehensive mechanization of in-line technological operations; At the same time, conveyors free workers from heavy and labor-intensive transport and loading and unloading work and make their work more productive.

The name of Ford is associated with the term “Fordism”, which is based on the assembly line principle and new methods of labor organization. Each of the workers along the conveyor performed one operation that required virtually no qualifications.

According to Ford, 43% of workers required training up to one day, 36% from one day to one week, 6% from 1 to 2 weeks, and 14% from 1 month to a year. The introduction of assembly line assembly, along with some other technical innovations, led to a sharp increase in labor productivity and a reduction in production costs, marking the beginning of mass production. At the same time, Fordism led to an unprecedented increase in the intensity of labor, making it meaningless, stultifying and exhausting. The workers have turned into robots. The forced rhythm set by the conveyor belt necessitated the transition to time-based wages for workers. The Fordist system, like Taylorism before it, became synonymous with the exploitation of workers inherent in the monopoly stage of capitalism. In an effort to suppress the discontent of workers and prevent them from organizing an organized struggle in defense of their rights, Ford introduced increased discipline at enterprises, instilled espionage and reprisals against labor activists.

From a worker's story automobile plant Ford in Dagenham: “For many years, trade union activity was not allowed at Ford plants. In the book “My Life, My Achievements,” Henry Ford claimed to be a kind of social reformer and argued that his methods of organizing production and labor could transform bourgeois society into “a society of abundance and social harmony.” Ford touted his system as being pro-worker, especially paying his plants higher wages than the industry average.”

In the early 70s, some firms abandoned extreme forms of assembly line production in order to increase the content and attractiveness of labor, and, consequently, its efficiency. To achieve this, conveyor lines are shortened, operations on them are combined, workers are moved along the conveyor and the like.

Let's summarize some results. A giant leap in manufacturing occurred in 1913 when Henry Ford introduced the assembly line to the automobile industry. Until this time, cars were built in much the same way as houses: that is, workers simply chose a location in a factory and assembled the car from top to bottom. The cost was high, and therefore only rich people at that time could afford to buy a car.

To make it accessible to the majority, according to Ford, it was necessary to increase labor productivity. This required:

1. limit the number of operations performed by each worker;
2. bring the work closer to those who did it, and not vice versa;
3. provide the most rational sequence of operations from all possible options.

The assembly line method has increased car prices accessible to millions families. As a result, the number of registered cars rose from 944,000 in 1912 to 2.5 million in 1915 and 20 million in 1925.

Henry Ford was not an economist, but his innovative manufacturing strategy had a revolutionary impact on the production of industrial consumer goods and the standard of living of Americans.

Nowadays, the conveyor belt is perceived by everyone as quite ordinary engineering solution, not like a laser or a nuclear power plant. Well, just think, before a master walked around some complex unit and assembled it entirely alone, but now these units move on a conveyor belt and dozens of craftsmen each attach their own part or two to them. Yes, labor productivity has increased, but this is elementary, what was there to come up with. But when the first products rolled off Henry Ford's assembly line 100 years ago, it was a real revolution in production, in economics, in sociology, in philosophy.

Henry Ford was born in 1863 into a poor farming family near Detroit. He studied in such a school that by the age of 15 he barely learned to read, and this was the end of his formal education, although he was engaged in self-education, in fact, all his life. Besides, even this school, where ALL students from first to eighth grade studied in one room and with one teacher, could not kill his remarkable abilities in mathematics. By the age of 20, he managed to change several jobs related to technology, and was miserably expelled from everywhere. The main reason was his passion for invention, which consumed all his time and energy. Only after getting married, Henry finally came to his senses and began to have a seemingly successful career, but at some point he was given a choice by the leadership of the Electric Company: either he stops bothering with the creation of his car and gets an excellent position in the company, or he can consider himself free. Henry Ford chose pie in the sky and left the company.

G. Ford

From that moment on, he completely devoted himself to realizing his dream. He continues to design cars that successfully compete with the most popular models in speed and reliability. But it is not possible to organize mass production of their cars right away - there is not enough money. The first automobile company he created was a joint stock company, where Ford led only technical part and did not in any way influence either the organization of production or the company’s policy in the market. Ford believed that the current situation in the production and sale of cars did not correspond to the enormous potential of this sector of the economy, but he could not influence anything. Soon he leaves this company and organizes a new one. Despite the fact that now he also owns only part of the shares, he already feels like the absolute owner of the business, which is reflected in the name of the company - Ford Motor Company. But all his attempts to do business “in a new way” again encounter misunderstandings from his companions. The bone of contention is the company's pricing policy. Ford insists on lowering prices and increasing production; its partners see the future in the production of expensive luxury models. These discords led to the fact that after initial successes, the company’s business began to decline and Ford managed to buy back part of the shares from disgruntled partners, which made his vote decisive. His time had come, and since then Ford's word became law for every employee of the company.

So mass production inexpensive cars for the "middle" class. But how to achieve cost reduction? Henry Ford decided to bet on the conveyor belt, the idea of ​​which, as they say, was in the air. In 1902, Ford's competitor, Oldsmobile, introduced special carts into production on which assembled cars moved around the workshop. In 1911, similar experiments began to be carried out at automobile factories of the General Motors company. Although Ford was not the author of the idea, he was still the first to understand what a huge future the assembly line had. In the spring of 1913 new principle was tested in the workshop where the main element of the car’s ignition system, the magneto, was assembled. Initially, each worker, having completed his operation on the magneto, simply passed the mechanism to his neighbor on a long table, but this already gave a huge saving in time, when the table was replaced by a moving belt, it turned out that labor productivity increased by 4 compared to “pre-conveyor” times times! During a year new system began to be used in the assembly of all components of Ford cars. In 1914, the Ford Motor Company produced twice as many cars as in 1913, while maintaining the same number of workers. Henry Ford's cars began to rapidly conquer the market, but a new problem appeared.

The assembly line assembly system has long been harshly criticized (in many ways rightly) for the fact that it completely exhausts the worker with the inability to catch his breath and the monotony of the operations performed. Charlie Chaplin's magnificent film "Modern Times" thundered, where the main character ends up in a psychiatric hospital straight from the conveyor belt. The old-school workers did not like the new production philosophy - “no need to think on the job”, and they moved to other companies at the first opportunity. Concerned about the problem of staff turnover, Henry Ford, generally inclined to revolutionary methods of solving problems, went for a significant increase in daily wages. Critics predicted declining profits and even disaster for the company, but Ford was right here too. The company's profits increased significantly due to the fact that the cost of training new workers decreased. From that time on, the conveyor began its triumphal march across the planet.

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

The American engineer-inventor Henry Ford entered the history of the automotive industry as the creator of the first industrial conveyor. Together with him, he introduced the scientific organization of labor. Its conveyor belt on a moving chassis stretched for 300 m, workers sequentially assembled the corresponding parts. One by one, finished cars rolled out of the factory gates. They quickly conquered all of America, followed by Europe. Henry Ford is revered as the father of the US automobile industry who shaped the American way of life.

At the age of 12, Henry, the son of a simple Irish farmer, saw his first self-propelled vehicle without a horse near Detroit. The guy's surprise knew no bounds. He ran closer. The driver explained that the vehicle is driven by a chain drive to rear wheels, the chain rotates from the unit - a boiler with boiling water and a firebox underneath. Coal serves as fuel. The more fire there is in the firebox, the more steam escapes from the pipe, the higher the speed. This transport is called a locomobile, or a mobile steam power plant, which drives agricultural machines. This meeting, as Ford later wrote, turned everything upside down in his mind. A self-propelled carriage became his dream and led to the design of cars...

Ford was born on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan. The family was of average income, but manual labor prevailed all around. Everything had to be done with one’s own hands—agricultural implements, stalls for domestic animals, repairing agricultural implements. And from a young age, Henry dealt not only with simple tools, but also with complex ones - he himself knew how to repair watches.

The young man’s interest in technology was so great that he left the farm, school, renounced his inheritance and got a job at Thomas Edison’s plant in Michigan. At night he worked on his own car in his garage. Only in 1896 did he manage to build something similar to a four-wheeled cart, but in fact it was the first gasoline quad bike. And he rode it, frightening the neighbors with its roar.

But one car is just one car, you can’t earn much from it, and he needed money. He joined a car manufacturing company. He designed, made new cars, even assembled racing cars, but his owners only wanted profit, they were not interested in invention, and he left.

In 1900-1908, many American entrepreneurs created automobile companies. Out of five hundred, only a few survived. Ford also tried to create his own company, but a year later it went bankrupt. What was left to do?

Henry Ford was Irish, and they are notoriously stubborn. In addition, he had a reputation as an excellent mechanic, an intelligent designer, in his racing car, which he himself designed, a speed record was achieved, and that meant something. And in 1903 he created the Ford Motor Company. He wanted to produce cars for ordinary people, so the machine had to be inexpensive so that the workers themselves could buy it. He instilled in the workers the dream of own car and promised to implement it.

At that time, in America, cars were sold for $1,000 or more. Ford did not create a car for the rich, and therefore cared little about the upholstery and prestige of the brand. He wanted to get the price of his car under $1,000. Henry worked along with his engineers day and night. He loved his creation and wanted all of America to love his cars. Ford began producing models in alphabetical order, from Model A to Model T. Its production began in 1908. Ford-T became the first model of the company in the production of which a conveyor was first used. Each worker in this production line performed one single operation, but very quickly. Every 10 seconds, one Model T car rolled off the assembly line, one after another. This was a landmark event in the Industrial Revolution.

Model T was soon recognized as the most successful, it went off the assembly line first for $800, by 1920 for $600 and later for $345! Such low prices no one had. At the same time, Ford began to paint all cars the same color - black. He joked: “The car can be any color, as long as it’s black.”

Large entrepreneurs laughed at him - he would go broke with the idea of ​​a mass-produced car, he produces not cars, but black tin cans with motors. Ford did not pay attention to the mocking remarks; he continued to pursue his production policy. He told his workers that if a machine broke down, the plant would help repair it. To this end, he began to produce spare parts for his cars, which no one had done before.

Ford hired people who obeyed his rules. He even took on disabled people. Since 1914, he paid workers $5 a day. This was twice the industry average. He reduced the working day to 8 hours and gave his workers 2 days off! The conveyor assembly of cars he used speeded up their production - the assembly time was reduced from 10 hours to 1.5 hours. Interest in his model continued to grow, and he sold up to 100 cars a day.

In 1920, he decided to reconstruct the enterprise and eliminate everything that was not directly related to the automotive industry. Some white-collar workers were asked to move to the shop floor and join the ranks of the blue-collar workers. Ford fired everyone who did not agree to work on the assembly line, proclaiming a new slogan: “Less administration in the business life of the company and more business spirit in the administration.” He eliminated unnecessary production meetings, banned all unnecessary documentation, and canceled many statistics.

All his innovations resulted in accelerated work of the assembly line and a large production of similar cars. Money flowed in a powerful stream, but he again invested everything he earned into production. His company was growing rich, his partners were counting on receiving dividends, but Ford quickly bought out all the company's shares and became the sole owner of his enterprises. Now he managed all the dividends individually and immediately became rich.

The number of modifications of the Model T was huge - from a convertible to a pickup truck. Ford was repeatedly offered to sell the company and was given a high price. He answered such proposals in monosyllables: “Then I will have money, but there will be no work.” He treated money calmly, even indifferently.

Ford T was also made as a military ambulance

During World War I, Ford, a pacifist by nature, organized a trip on an ocean liner to Europe and tried to convince Europeans to stop fratricide. Nothing came of his idea. Then he began producing military vehicles and even tanks. During World War II, he built an aircraft factory and began producing the B-24 bomber. After his death, the company was taken over by his son Henry Ford Jr.

By 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been produced and sold. The company itself was valued at $700 million. Ford's capital, together with his son, reached 1.2 billion (approximately 30 billion in today's times) dollars.